Links in the Daisy Chain
by cakelesspixels
Summary: Daisy moves back home to Duckburg to live with her sister. She makes new friends and some new enemies while trying to get her life back together. This is the beginning of a series of fics involving Daisy and her friends.
1. Dance to Another Tune

Nothing had gone according to plan. When Daisy returned to Duckburg with her tail between her legs, her sister, Donna, had opened up her home to her until she could get back on her feet. Daisy hesitantly agreed to the arrangement. It had felt like the first step to admitting failure.

The two bedroom ranch home wasn't her dream house, especially when her bedroom was nothing more than a dressed up corner of the basement. The only upside was that she was able to live closer to Donald and his nephews, as well as living under the same roof as her nieces for the opportunity to spoil them on a daily basis. Being the fun aunt was easy when she got to hand over the girls to Donna for discipline.

She'd come back to her basement apartment after work to slide under the covers. The only thing that could normally drag her out from the depths of her self-pity was her nieces begging for her attention. It was impossible to say no to their faces or even Webby. She wasn't one of Donna's girls, but Webby was like a member of the family nonetheless and her gentle prodding could get Daisy out of bed.

"Daisy?"

"Go away, Donna."

"Daisy, I need to talk to you." Daisy was convinced that Donna was hard of hearing sometimes. The smell of honey almond soap wafted through the air when Donna descended the stairs; she must have taken a shower after work.

Daisy sighed. "About what?"

"Work."

"Work was fine."

"No, no, I don't mean like that," Donna said. "I was talking to a friend of mine today and she told me about a job opening you might be interested in. It's not exactly what you want to do, but it's closer than your current line of work."

"What is it?" Daisy sat up. Her bow was starting unravel and her uniform was disheveled from rolling around in her bed. She'd debated putting on her night clothes, but depression had won out and she convinced herself she could clean and iron it before her next shift.

"Here." Donna handed Daisy a brochure. There were plenty of images of dancers of all ages with the words Webfoot Dance Studio etched on the cover. "You remember my friend I was telling you about? Holly? She's a teacher there and she said they're hiring for an office assistant. I know it's not your dream job, but it's a step in the right direction, yeah?"

Daisy stared at the brochure, flipping through its pages. "Well, it'd be better than being a waitress."

"Exactly! And maybe you can make friends with a famous dancer there!"

"Right." Daisy smiled. Her sister had no idea what she was talking about, but she couldn't expect her to. Donna had been the sensible one, according to their mother, who avoided an arts-related career. Instead, she'd made the more financially stabled choice of being a nurse. It did mean she was slightly clueless when it came to anything related to the arts on a professional level. There was no reason to start correcting her when all she was trying to do was help.

"I already set up an interview for you."

"Seriously?"

"You need to get out of this rut, Daisy," Donna said. "So I told my friend to set up an interview for you. She's pretty close to the owner. She said the earliest they could see you was tomorrow at two."

"You were really this worried about me?"

"Yes," Donna admitted. "That and this will give you better hours so that you can be here when the girls get off from school and I'm at work."

Daisy laughed. "I should have known you had a trick up your sleeve."

"So you'll go?"

"I'll go," Daisy agreed. She hugged her sister. "Thanks, Donna. I really appreciate this."

"You can thank me by getting the job," she said. "I have to go get dinner ready."

Donna headed back upstairs and left Daisy to her thoughts. She flipped through the brochure now that she was alone with it. She briefly wondered if she'd be given a discount on classes if she was able to get the job. Although it wasn't what she'd been wishing for, she couldn't help but feel a renewed vigor. It would put her in contact with artsy people again which was a step in the right direction. Daisy spent the rest of the night trying to gleam as much information about the dance studio and Donna's friend over dinner and even after dinner. Donna was only able to get away from her hounding by heading up to bed.

The next morning, Daisy could hardly contain her excitement. She'd picked out her best interviewing dress that was, in her opinion, incredibly flattering and she pulled her hair into a tidy bun for a more professional look. The studio was in a large, albeit rather nondescript brick building. The only reason Daisy knew she was in the right place was the sign above the door proudly proclaiming the name Webfoot Dance Studio.

When Daisy stepped inside, she was hit with a flood of memories. The studio was reminiscent of the one she used to attend as a girl with Donna and Minnie. It seemed as time rolled on there were a few things that would always stay the same. Behind the receptionist desk was an older duck with rather big yellow hair. She looked as if she were around the same age as Daisy's mother. The woman didn't seem to notice Daisy as she approached the desk as she was completely engulfed in whatever task she was working on.

"Excuse me? Ma'am?"

"Hm?" The woman looked up, slightly startled. She immediately dropped whatever it was she was working on to give Daisy her full attention. "Hello! How can I help you?"

"Hello, I'm Daisy Duck," she said. "I have a two o'clock meeting with Madame MacBridge."

"That would be me," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you! I've heard so much about you and your sister. And, please, call me Brigitta."

"You're Madame-I mean, Brigitta?" Daisy looked the woman over a second. "I didn't expect to see you out here answering phones."

Brigitta laughed a bit. "Well, our old assistant quit rather suddenly. That's why we need someone to take her place. Are you good at typing?"

"Yes, I-"

"And you can answer the phone and keep a schedule?"

"Yeah, it's-"

"Good, then you have the job!"

"But… wait, I do?"

"Can you start now?"

"I-"

"Great!" Brigitta grinned. "Now I have to get back to my own work. Holly will give you a brief run through on all of this."

"Wait!"

Brigitta didn't wait. She called out for Holly in a loud, sing-song voice. A few seconds later, Holly Goldstein emerged from one of the rooms. She fit Donna's description to a T. She was a Golden Sebright with her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and bangs that came down to just above her eyes.

"You called?"

"Daisy, you already know Holly from your sister, right?"

"My sister's told me about her, yes."

Brigitta didn't seem to be listening to Daisy's response. "Holly, could you show Daisy how to answer the phone and all that? I would do it myself, but I have a few important phone calls to make."

"I would-"

"Thank you so much, Holly, dear!"

"-love to."

Brigitta had already disappeared into her office. Holly turned to Daisy with a warm smile. "So, you're Donna's sister, right?"

"Guilty as charged," Daisy said. "So you're going to show me the ropes around here?"

"Yeah, I, uh, I guess I am." Holly gave a nervous chuckle. Daisy tried not to be too concerned about the lack of confidence in Holly's voice.

"How does the phone answering system work?" Daisy took a seat at the desk.

"Well…" Holly rubbed her neck as she approached. "The phone sits here and you answer it when it rings. And then you either write down who called or take their money. We mostly encourage you to take their money."

"Oh… that's it?"

"I think," Holly said. "No one ever calls for anyone specifically. If anyone asks for someone, just take a message. I doubt they will though. Oh, and there should be a file on the computer that has a list of the classes we offer. If anyone asks, just tell 'em what we have open and put 'em in the class they want."

"What if a class is full?"

Daisy was a bit surprised when her question was met with laughter. The chicken was holding her sides as she doubled over. After a few seconds, Holly's laughter began to subside. Clearing her throat, she straightened her posture.

"Oh. Oh, you were serious," Holly said. "Yeah, um, don't worry about that."

"You never fill up a class?"

"No, not exactly."

"I hope you're not offended by my asking but… is there a more popular dance studio people go to instead?"

"Not a dance studio, no," Holly answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Here's the thing about Duckburg," Holly said. She headed to the front window and turned to look back to Daisy. She pointed a thumb towards the building across the street that Daisy hadn't taken notice of before. She was a little embarrassed she'd somehow missed the bright pink building despite it being plain as day. The sign above the door was a lot flashier than Webfoot's; the glittery letters proclaiming its name, Pageant Parade. "Duckburg is a pageant town."

"Pageant town?"

"Yeah, see, most of the parents in this town want their daughters to be pageant queens," Holly explained. "And occasionally, pageant kings, but the boys are usually signed up for sports. Anyway, word is that you make more money as a pageant queen than a dancer around these parts."

"I guess I just expected our biggest competition to be another dance studio."

"I wish," Holly said. "At least then I'd feel like it was a competition where we could both walk away with our dignity."

"And she set up shop right across the street from you?"

"Well, actually, Brigitta set up across from her."

When Daisy expressed her confusion, Holly began to explain the history of Webfoot Dance Studio. Brigitta had opened the studio not to steal students from Pageant Parade, but with the idea they could work in tandem. She'd believed that Trudy Van Tubb, the owner of Pageant Parade, would send students her way to learn how to dance for the talent part of the pageant. What Brigitta hadn't counted on was a lack of interest from the girls and their parents. They would slap together routines that looked similar to dance movies without actually committing to being a dance. Brigitta's brilliant scheme was dead on arrival.

The more Holly explained how the office worked, the more downhearted Daisy could feel herself becoming. This really wasn't anything close to what she dreamed. They weren't really even doing much good in the dance world on a child's level. Daisy was eventually left to her own devices when Holly's students started to arrive.

It didn't take her long to miss Holly's company. Although there was plenty of paperwork on the desk, a lot of it seemed like nothing more than busywork. It didn't help that calls weren't coming in, except for the occasional wrong number. Daisy quickly assessed that the number Webfoot used had once belonged to a pizza delivery place. The hours passed by slowly as she went from one dull task to the next.

"Daisy?"

Daisy jumped at the sound of Brigitta's voice. It had been a surprising, but welcomed, interruption from the quiet of the lobby.

"Daisy, are you out here?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Oh, wonderful," Brigitta said. "Are you busy right now?"

"Uh, no, not right now," Daisy said. "I've been keeping on top of everything."

"Great!" Brigitta handed her a sheet of paper. "Can you take this to Holly for me? I need you to get her to sign it. I have a few people I need to talk to ASAP so I thought, 'Hey, why not let Daisy handle this?' So I put it in your hands! Besides, I don't want to be the one to interrupt her dance class."

"No problem," Daisy said. "I got this."

"Thanks, sweetie," Brigitta said. She disappeared into her office once again. Daisy wasn't sure why Brigitta couldn't wait until after classes had concluded, but she wouldn't question her new boss' actions too much. She headed into Holly's classroom where she was still in mid-lesson with a small class of students of varying age range. The room looked like a page right out of Daisy's childhood. She wished Minnie and Donna could have been there to see it. She'd have someone to take that trip down memory lane with.

Holly stood at the front of the room, close to the small iPod that was blasting out one of the more recent Powerline songs for the students to dance to. Daisy couldn't really help it. Her hips began to move to the beat of the music as she waited for the right time to approach Holly. The class was a little more intense than the one she remembered from her own childhood, but the dance moves still looked rather doable. Desperate to prove it to herself, she started to mimic their actions with the paperwork still in her hand. The dance was growing fast in pace and it was becoming a little more difficult to keep up. Daisy wasn't ready to give up on following along just yet. It was something she had to prove to herself.

It was bad luck that put an end to Daisy's dancing. Daisy had been keeping up with the beat until she felt her heel slipping out from under her. With a shout, she fell backwards into one of the dancers. The other girl let out a horrified scream and Daisy could do nothing as the fall set off a domino effect. Daisy didn't move from where she'd fallen on the hardwood floor. She could only watch as the other dancers toppled over and knocked each other to the ground. The only person spared from the "massacre" was Holly. The slender chicken stared at pile of tangled up dancers with a surprised expression.

"Huh… Well, the real shame is I can't think of any funny jokes for this."

"Sorry!" Daisy exclaimed. "Sorry, everyone! Sorry!"

She could feel the entire room staring daggers at her. The only exception was the still confused Holly at the front of the class. People slowly got back to their feet and Daisy could hear mentions of bruises and even scrapes.

"Hey, everybody, how about we call it a day?" Holly said. "We'll pick up again next week. Sorry, everyone!"

Daisy buried her head in her hands as the class filed out of the room. They shot angry glares her way and continued to murmur under their breaths. Daisy wasn't able to pull herself up off the floor until after everyone had exited. She was unable to meet Holly's eyes.

"I think you've been having a rough day."

"You could say that…."

"How about you head home?" Holly asked. "We'll be closing up soon anyway. I'll just tell Brigitta I sent you home early. She's used to me usurping her authority. She won't even blink."

"Thank you," Daisy said. "Holly, I'm really sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure, don't sweat it."

"You're not mad?"

Holly gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Nah, I got to take the day off early thanks to your disastrous dancing skills. You ever think about getting lessons? As an employee, you can take them here for free."

"I already know how to dance, thank you."

"Mhm."

"Okay, all of this was an accident! I slipped!"

"Right."

"Ugh!" Daisy placed her hands on her hips. "I'll prove it to you one of these days."

"Yeah, how about you just head home and get some rest?"

Daisy sighed. "Do you think your class will be able to forgive me?"

"Don't worry about them," Holly said. "I'll bring them some stickers. They'll get over it."

"Stickers? Really?"

"Well, yeah," Holly said. "What's your suggestion? iNot/i get them stickers?"

Daisy shook her head. "I'll be going now." Their farewells were short and sweet. Daisy was relieved to see the dancers had cleared out by the time she reentered the lobby. Her relief didn't last long as the sound of rain gently rapping at the window stopped her in her tracks. She'd left her umbrella at home. It was raining and she had no form of protection from it. She would be soaked by the time she reached her car. She turned when she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Umbrella?" Holly held up a clear umbrella. "Brigitta keeps a spare one around the office for emergencies."

Daisy turned to take the umbrella from Holly's hands with a small, weary smile. "Thanks. I'll bring it back tomorrow."

She walked back toward her car, shaking off the umbrella outside the door before tossing it in the backseat. The drive home was spent fighting with rush hour traffic for over an hour before she finally made it back to Donna's. Daisy entered the house with her head hanging low. She gave her nieces a half-hearted hello as she passed by them, heading to her basement apartment. She ignored Donna calling out to her in favor of heading downstairs and curling up on her bed. She wasn't surprised to hear the basement door open. She'd counted on Donna coming down to check on her whether Daisy wanted her to or not.

"Daisy?" Donna called out. "Is everything okay?"

"No."

"Dazzle, what happened?"

Daisy took a few seconds before answering. "I made a fool out of myself today."

"I'm sorry Daisy."

"This isn't what I wanted for my life, Donna."

"I know," Donna said. There was no judgment or mocking in her words, only sympathy. "Trust me we're in the same boat, Daisy. I didn't want to be a divorcee, but here I am, raising three girls on my own. Well, with you here, I can't say I'm completely on my own for now."

Daisy frowned. She was embarrassed to admit that she was just now slowly realizing how much her sister understood where she was coming from. While Daisy had been trying to make it big in St. Canard, Donna had been left behind in Duckburg dealing with the aftermath of a rather messy divorce. Without warning, Daisy lifted herself off the mattress to embrace her sister.

She could feel Donna slowly patting her on the back. "But you know what?" Donna said. "Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we should make the best of what we've got. I still have my girls and there's no law that says you can't keep looking for a better job. This is still a step up from being a waitress."

"Yeah, I guess it is," Daisy said. "And it might give me a chance to audition for local stuff. It's not as glamorous as, say, St. Canard, but beggars can't be choosers, right?"

Donna smiled. "And you never know where it could lead."

"Thanks, Donna." She hugged her tightly once again. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Donna said. "Now how about you come up and get some dinner?"

Daisy nodded. Donna headed back upstairs to finish dinner while Daisy stayed behind for a while longer. She looked over her small basement domain and was, for the first time, feeling a little fond of it. It suddenly wasn't the room of defeat she once saw it as, but home.

She was home.


	2. Miss Opportunities (Part 1)

Breakfast at Donna's house was always hectic. With three girls running about, Daisy felt like her head was spinning. Donna had a system that she'd had years to perfect. Every plate was prepared according to each of her daughters' liking and she knew the exact places to set them down at the table. Daisy had noticed that the girls gravitated to the same spots at the table every morning. She wasn't sure if it was a conscious decision or not. She'd never experienced anyone sitting in the wrong spot to find out. The girls were always awake before Daisy pulled herself out of bed so even if she wanted to test this theory, she wouldn't have had the chance. Daisy wasn't about to drag herself out of bed early in the morning over something so trivial.

Daisy was amazed at how big her nieces had gotten. They had just started high school and were about the same height as Daisy; there would only be a few more growth spurts before they finally caught up to her. It seemed like only yesterday they had just been born. It had to be even more surreal for their mother. After grabbing an apple from the kitchen counter, Daisy headed into the small dining room to sit beside April at the table. The girls were already digging in before Donna joined them.

"Hey, mom, I need to ask you something," April said. Her ponytail was held securely in place by a bright purple scrunchie. Since reaching her teens, her love affair with bows had waned.

"Hm?"

"I want to enter a pageant."

"Come again?"

April's announcement had blind-sided both her mother while Daisy wasn't quite as surprised. Out of all her nieces, Daisy figured April would be the one interested in giving the pageant world a try. "It's the Miss Teen Calisota pageant," April continued. "They hold it in Duckburg every year and this year, I want to compete."

"A pageant?" May repeated. "Seriously?"

"What sparked all this?" Donna asked.

"It's a logical step for my career," April explained. "Do you know how many actresses won a pageant title before making it big?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, a lot of them!"

Donna sighed. "How much does it cost?"

"Mom, don't even worry about that," April said. "I have it all planned out. I've been saving up money since last year's competition and I've saved enough to pay off the entry fee and Webby is taking care of my dress. All I need from you is to sign the permission slip." She paused. "And maybe give me some money for a new bathing suit."

"You saved up the money?" Donna was flabbergasted. No one at the table was accustomed to April taking so much initiative on her own. Despite being the ringleader of her sisters, April had always been a little careless with her money. The fact she'd held onto so much for so long was an impressive feat.

"Can I mom? Please?"

"Well, you did need a new bathing suit anyway," Donna said. "If you're really that serious about this, I won't stand in your way."

"Thank you!" April threw her arms around her mother. "I love you so much. Oh! Oh! And I need your permission for the pageant coach."

"What?"

"I've never done this pageant stuff before," April explained. "So I found a pageant coach who can help me win!"

"Yeah, it's not easy to sell your soul without some help," May said.

"Could you butt out of this, May?"

"Not my fault pageants are so stupid," she said. "If you ask me, they're pretty demeaning."

"Good thing no one asked you," April said.

"Girls," Donna said. Her serious tone would be her first and only warning for the girls.

"Mom, you can't let her do this," May said.

"It's her money, sweetheart," Donna said. "If this is how she wants to use it then that's her choice."

May crossed her arms to sulk while April stuck out her tongue at her sister. June was grinning from ear to ear. As usual, she was unperturbed by her sisters' bickering. "I wouldn't mind joining a pageant. Maybe my cheerleading would come in handy."

May sighed. "I seriously can't believe I'm related to either of you."

"Maybe you can save up for next year." April ignored May's comments. "Then two Duck sisters could win two years in a row!"

"You know, I was in a beauty pageant once," Daisy said. "Back when I was still a freshman in college I entered the Miss Duckburg USA pageant. I don't think that one's around anymore."

"Really?" April leaned in to listen to her aunt. "What happened?"

"I didn't win." Daisy sighed dramatically. "I was just the runner up."

"Can we rewind for a second?" Donna asked. "What was this about a pageant coach?"

"Right!" April reached for her backpack to dig around inside of it. After a moment or two of fishing, she pulled out a pamphlet to hand over to her mother. "I went to Pageant Parade and the coach there agreed to take me on if I got your permission."

Daisy nearly choked on her apple. It hadn't even occurred to Daisy that Pageant Parade would come up in the conversation, even with all the talk of pageant coaches. While she hadn't been working at Webfoot Studios for very long, she felt a swell of loyalty twist her gut into knots. Donna studied the pamphlet her daughter had handed to her; it had Trudy van Tubb's face plastered on every page along with images of the, admittedly, impressive looking studio. She promised to turn each and every student into a pageant starlet while boasting about her own accomplishments.

"Honey, do you really need a pageant coach?" Daisy asked. She would try a more subtle approach at solving the problem. She had a feeling carrying on about work-related rivalries wouldn't appeal to any of her relatives. "I didn't have one with I competed."

"Aunt Daisy, pageants have changed since you competed," April said. "All these other girls will have been training since they were in diapers. I'll need to be at the top of my game."

"If you're willing to pay for her services yourself, I see no problem with it," Donna said.

Daisy had to say something. She knew that Donna didn't understand the office politics at play and, even if she did, it was likely that Donna wouldn't care enough to stop April. Donna would have labeled it as petty and immediately shoved aside any concerns Daisy had about her professional integrity.

"Donna–"

"I totally am!" April was too excited to notice she'd interrupted her aunt. "Thanks again, mom! I gotta go tell Webby!"

"Plate."

April had been about to rush off before her mother's gentle reminder. She grabbed the now empty plate to carry it into the kitchen. Donna shook her head as April ran out after taking care of her dishes. May was the first to speak up once her sister had exited the room.

"Mom, you cannot be okay with her doing this," May said.

"One pageant won't hurt," Donna said. "Besides you know how your sister is. She'll do this once, get bored with it and move onto the next thing. If she pays for it, I'm not going to fight her on it."

"But beauty pageants teach girls that the only thing that matters are their looks," May argued. "Those things are an embarrassing joke."

"They have a talent portion though." June was on the defense. "And a lot of the time prizes go to college funds and stuff."

"Or maybe save the money you spend on competing and put that into the college fund," May said.

"Well, you buy your sports gear."

"That doesn't cost half as much as pageant crap," May said. "You buy your gear once every couple years and you don't have to change into ten different outfits for one game."

"Stop." Donna didn't add anything else. It was enough to stop the two girls from arguing. "It's time to agree to disagree." While Donna was always supportive of healthy debates, she didn't want to start her day with her daughters' arguing. "Or at least time to wait until your mother doesn't have to hear it."

May sighed. "I'm gonna be late coming home tonight," she said. "I have soccer today."

"Alright, but I expect you to come home straight after practice. I should be home in time for dinner."

"Right." May grabbed her stuff and headed out. June finished up her own breakfast and kissed her mother's cheek goodbye before following her sister. Donna took her time, sipping her coffee at a leisurely pace. They lived only a few blocks away from Duckburg High which allowed the girls to walk to school unsupervised. It gave Donna more time to herself in the mornings that she had to work or, on her days off, meant she didn't have to get up to drive them to school. It saved them a lot of gas money in the long run.

"Why are you letting her do this pageant?" Donna raised an eyebrow at her sister's frantic tone. Daisy knew that was the signal to switch gears; she had to act casual to get Donna to take her seriously. "I never imagined you of all people would let your daughter be in a pageant. You were furious when I entered the Miss Duckburg USA pageant."

"I had stronger feelings about it back then," Donna said. "My priorities have switched around. That and I know my daughter. She's like you. She gets these ideas in her head and then she drops them after she gets bored."

"I do not drop ideas!"

Donna held her hands up in surrender, but it was obvious that Daisy's protest meant nothing to her. Daisy gave a sigh before glancing to the kitchen door, catching a glimpse of April heading out of the house. "Do you think she really needs a coach?"

"If she saved up for it, I won't say no," Donna said.

Daisy knew there wasn't anything she could say to get through to her sister. Donna wasn't the type of person to care about rivalries. There wasn't anything Daisy could say to get Donna to understand her point of view on that front. It would have taken some convincing to get her sister to understand how a pageant coach could be the biggest competition for a dance studio. She could only hope that, if word got back to Webfoot, they wouldn't view them as traitors. Daisy tried to calm herself with logic. There was no way that the girls at the office would find out. They didn't frequent Pageant Parade to know her students and it wasn't as though they stared out the window at the place. There was no way for them to know without being outright told.

Daisy excused herself from the table to head to work. She would admit that Donna hadn't been wrong about taking the job at Webfoot. Life was a little more bearable now that she had something to fill her days rather than being left to mope in her room. She was beginning to save up for a place of her own and even debating making the move back to St. Canard. She would never admit it to her sister's face, but Donna was right about family being what Daisy needed to get herself back into the right state of mind.

When Daisy arrived at work, she wasn't surprised to see that Brigitta and Holly had already clocked in. She wasn't sure why Holly felt the need to get there so early; Daisy would have much rather used the extra hour to get a little more sleep. It did make Daisy feel slightly unmotivated at times.

"Morning, girls," Daisy said. She hung up her hat on the stand beside the door. In the summer she'd taken to wearing a floppy, wide-brim hat as protection from the sun's rays.

"Buongiorno," Brigitta greeted. Daisy noted that she was heading toward the door with a sandwich board tucked under her arm. She tried to see what had been written on it, but Brigitta's arm obstructed her view. "You'll have to excuse me a second, Daisy. I have something I need to take care of."

Daisy kept her eyes on her employer as she headed to her work station, setting her purse down as she took a seat; the metal clasp making a clanking noise as it hit the glass desk. She tried to get a look at what Brigitta was advertising through the window to no avail.

"It's like clockwork," Holly said.

"What is?"

"The sandwich board," Holly clarified. "Whenever that Calisota pageant comes around, Brigitta is convinced we'll get a huge influx of students. She always heads out to put up that sign to offer them discounts when Trudy starts up her Miss Teen Calisota boot camp."

Daisy's heart nearly dropped to the pit of her stomach. The guilt of betrayal was resurfacing with a vengeance. "Does anyone ever sign up?" She was doing everything in her power to keep cool. She couldn't let Holly know that something was wrong.

"Once," Holly answered. "We got one person to sign up and she gave up after two classes. Trudy teaches them little… well, she calls them dance moves. She teaches them how to wiggle around and call it a dance for points. Judges eat it up, I guess."

Daisy was wringing her hands. Every nerve in her body was abuzz with fear as she watched children and teenagers beginning to file into Pageant Parade. She prayed that April wouldn't be among them when they were still in plain view of Holly and Brigitta. Holly's friendship with Donna ensured that she knew what the triplets looked like. Daisy wasn't so sure if Brigitta was acquainted with them but this wasn't how she wanted to find out. Her boss had come back inside with her hands clasped in excitement.

"It looks like her students are coming," Brigitta said. "Hopefully at least one of them will come over here after training for dance lessons."

Daisy was a bit relieved when she saw Brigitta heading back to her office. This feeling of comfort was quickly ripped away from her when she spotted April in the crowd of students. Instead of heading inside, she paused just outside the door to strike up a conversation with a young giraffe girl.

"Oh hey, isn't that-" Holly found her sentence cut off by Daisy's hand over her mouth. It wasn't until after Brigitta exited the room that Daisy released her. Holly raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What was that about?"

Daisy glanced at Brigitta's office door. "Brigitta cannot find out that… you know?"

"Find out that April's going to Pageant Parade?"

"Shhh!"

Holly glanced to Brigitta's door and then back to Daisy. "Daze, nobody here cares."

"You don't think I'm a traitor?"

Holly laughed. "What?"

"I thought you guys would think I was a traitor."

"Traitor? Seriously?" Holly shook her head. "That's a little dramatic, isn't it? No one here is going to take it personally. We're not five year olds. Trudy might be petty like that, but we're not."

"Really?" Daisy could feel relief wash over her. It hadn't been the reaction Daisy hadn't been expecting although she'd been hoping for it.

"I might even be able to help her," Holly said. "I know she's got herself a coach, but I don't think it'd hurt if she had a dance teacher as well, you know? It'd be great for her talent unless she plans to do some kind of Macbeth monologue."

"That would be a great idea!" Daisy allowed herself to grow more ecstatic about the entire ordeal. "If I had a dance teacher when I competed in the Miss Duckburg USA, I would have been a shoe in!"

"Wait, you competed in a pageant?" Holly grinned. "No way."

"I most certainly did!" Without prompting, Daisy began to tell the story from beginning to end. When she was still a freshman in college, she had been looking for ways to supplement her income while building up something of a career portfolio. When the Miss Duckburg USA competition rolled into town, Daisy recalled fighting tooth and nail to win. She'd been devastated when she was declared the runner up to Patty Pony, an old childhood friend that she'd met through Minnie. The bitterness of defeat made it difficult to support her old childhood friend in her victory.

"Even though I lost, there was one bright spot." Daisy smiled fondly. "That was how I met Donald."

"No kidding? He wasn't a contestant, was he?"

"No." The idea of Donald in a beauty pageant was enough to gain a boisterous laugh from Daisy. She'd seen plenty of boys at the pageants, but Daisy could only imagine Donald losing his cool at the slightest mishap. "He was on leave from the navy at the time. I even remember his little sailor suit. He was so handsome."

Donald had just stumbled across the pageant. The Miss Duckburg USA pageant was held during the Duckburg Music Festival; the pageant committee felt it was the best way to build up an audience for what was just a fledgling competition at the time. She'd been disappointed they would have to parade around on stage in the hot summer weather, but she now sung a completely different tune. Had it been in some dreary hotel ballroom or convention center, she and Donald would have never met. Daisy had to admit to herself that Donald always enjoyed watching the ladies. It was the chance to look at the girls that kept him in his seat, but it was Daisy that made him want to stay after the show.

"He told me he was smitten with me at first sight." Daisy gave a wistful sigh. "He came up to me after the show and asked me out right then and there. I might not have won the pageant, but I still feel like the real winner."

"Did you steal that line from a Penelope Poodle movie?"

"Nobody asked you," Daisy said. "I'm being sweet and romantic."

"Whatever you say, boss."

"Sometimes I wish I could go back to that day," she smiled. "It's funny. When he first asked me out, I wasn't really all that interested. I was all wrapped up in losing the pageant and I thought he was just one of those boys who just liked to play the field, you know?"

"So why'd you say yes?"

"I thought it'd take my mind off things," Daisy admitted. "I figured an evening with him wouldn't be so bad, especially if he was going to buy me funnel cake. I was sad and deserved a little pampering. But then he turned out to be the sweetest man I'd ever met. You know… maybe this pageant will be good for April after all. Even if she doesn't win, maybe she'll walk away with that special someone."

"Maybe," Holly said. "Or maybe she'll find nothing but the hollow shells of once vibrant children."

"Holly."

"It was a joke," Holly said. "I better get to my classroom. How about after work we head back to your place to see if April would be interested in those lessons?"

"That would be lovely," Daisy agreed. She returned to work as Holly disappeared into her classroom to prepare for her students. Daisy switched her brain to autopilot as her thoughts were consumed by memories of the olden days and Donald. After so many years together, he still made her feel as giddy as a school girl. She would have thought that those emotions would have dulled over time and yet they were as strong as they were that first evening they met.

April competing in this pageant was going to resurface so many fond memories.

* * *

><p>Pageant Parade wasn't anything like April imagined. She had been anticipating it to be nothing more than a receptionist's desk and a room for practicing. It was surprisingly spacious with doors that lead to dressing rooms and classrooms while there were commons areas for parents to gather. There were a few students, or possibly siblings of students, sitting beside parents in white leather guest chairs that stood out against the bright pink walls. The smell of peaches and fresh coffee was in the air although she couldn't catch sight of the coffee machine.<p>

April spent very little time in the office waiting room before she was sent back into what the receptionist referred to as the larger of the two classrooms. It was about twice the size of the waiting area; one wall was cover completely by a mirror for students to watch themselves while the rest was covered with trophies and photographs. April could see all of the images involved Trudy. They were all pictures of her standing beside important figures or celebrities – including a few April didn't recognize – or Trudy with her students. She could see Trudy's name engraved on most of the trophies while the rest only had '1st' written into the side.

There was only a splattering of students with April included. The room had been reserved for the students focusing on competing for the Miss Teen Calisota pageant according to the receptionist. The giraffe girl from outside stood off to the side with the other girls. It was clear she was well acquainted with the other two which wasn't a major surprise. They must have been students of Trudy for years now. April was the newcomer to their territory.

"Hey, Geraldine," April said. At the friendly greeting, the giraffe whipped her head around to look at April.

"April," she said with a grin. "Come over here and meet the girls!"

Geraldine and the girls, Daphne and Maralyn, gave April a warm welcome. Daphne and Maralyn were ducks like herself and April had to admit, seeing all the other girls was starting to make her feel uneasy. All of these girls were not only pretty, but polished competitors. They already carried themselves like winners. The last thing April would do was let them know how intimidated she felt. It would have been two steps away from admitting defeat. Her attention was diverted away from the girls when the door to the classroom was thrust open with great gusto. Trudy van Tubb stood in the doorway with a bright smile on her face. The woman looked just as pleasant as she did on the flyers and adverts that were constantly passed around Duckburg.

"Good morning, ladies."

"Good morning, Miss van Tubb." The girls spoke in perfect unison save for April. They stood in a straight line to wait for their teacher to approach. The level of obedience seemed to be on par with that of ensigns saluting their sergeant.

"You must be April," she said. "Hello and welcome, sweetie."

She was sweet and inviting with a gentle tone to match. April hadn't been expecting a sweetheart of a woman to step through those doors if she was being honest with herself. Holly had mentioned Trudy before and even though she'd taken many of Holly's stories with a grain of salt, she was expecting her to be a bit more surly or standoffish. She had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised.

"I see you've already met the other girls,"

"Yeah, they've been really welcoming."

"We always are," Geraldine said.

"One thing's been bothering me though," Maralyn said. "I don't remember seeing you in any pageants before. What other pageants have you done?"

"She can't tell you that," Trudy cut in. "Because this is her first pageant?"

"You're entering the Miss Teen Calisota pageant as your first one?" Daphne asked. The girls stared at April in awe. It was clear that they hadn't been anticipating her to be a complete amateur. She wasn't sure if that would impact her relationship with them, but she wasn't about to feel ashamed about it.

April puffed up her chest with pride. "I like to aim high whenever I do anything."

Trudy started to circle the young duck. It reminded April of a vulture, but somehow a little more terrifying. The larger cat woman scratched her chin, thoughtfully, before reaching out to paw at April. April would have been lying if she said it didn't make her a little uncomfortable; she wasn't even used to her own mother messing with her hair or clothing. The pawing was followed by an onslaught of critique. It was nearly impossible to catch every word of it. She caught something about needing eye shadow and that she would need to wear her hair down.

Within moments, April was being run through the motions. She felt like a science experiment or some kind of wind-up toy as she was asked to parade around the room; her every move was scrutinized by not only Trudy, but the other girls. Trudy encouraged the other students to start commenting on what April was doing wrong and they didn't hold back. April was getting a rundown of every flaw and imperfection with how she carried herself. She didn't stand up straight enough, her walk wasn't sassy and she wasn't smiling with her eyes. No one made it clear exactly what they meant no matter how many times April questioned them. All she knew was that she wasn't doing it up to standard.

Any ounce of confidence that April had was slowly dwindling with each critique and comment. She told herself it was the price of perfection; if they didn't tell her what was wrong, there'd be no way she'd be able to improve. What she needed to do was not take it so personally. Still, she was relieved when the room finally ceased fire on her ego. It was a little less stressful when Trudy moved onto discussing talent.

"Now your wardrobe is important, but so is your talent," Trudy explained. "You're going to need something to really wow the judges."

"Oh yeah, I was thinking about doing a dance routine."

"Excellent choice!"

Trudy's encouragement severed as a little boost to April's now delicate confidence. "One of my mom's friends is a dance teacher and I was going to ask her if she could choreograph something for me. I'm pretty sure if I flatter her ego enough, I can get a yes out of her. She works right across the street. It'd be easy to head over there right after I see you to practice with her."

"She's a Webfoot teacher," Trudy said. It wasn't a question but a statement. "Honey bear, listen, you hired me to be your coach. If you need to learn a dance, I will be the one to teach it to you. I have enough talented staff here that I don't need to outsource like Webfoot might. Now I'm sure your mother's little friend might be able to win a children's dance competition, but this is another kettle of fish."

April was a little taken aback by Trudy's commentary. "My aunt thought she would be good though," she argued.

"And does your aunt know anything about pageants?"

"She was in one before," April said. "She won runner up."

"April, dear, have you ever heard of the saying 'too many cooks spoil the broth'?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you see why that saying might apply here?"

"I guess, but-"

"April, your aunt has only been in one pageant," Trudy explained. "And she didn't even win it. Is that the person you want to get tips from?"

"Excuse me?"

"No offense," Trudy said. "But you should get tips from winners, not losers. You need to be thinking about your success even though I'm sure your aunt means well."

"Okay." April didn't know what else to say. She couldn't agree with her that Holly and Aunt Daisy didn't have anything of value to teach her, but she doubted they knew that much about pageants. They were talented and skilled people who lacked experience while Trudy was a seasoned pro. If she made a big to-do about whatever Trudy said, Trudy would have probably dropped her from the roster in a heartbeat.

"Good," she said. "Now I'll let you see what I have for Geraldine. I personally choreographed her dance."

April nodded and turned to watch her newest friend with a smile. She was a little eager to see what she had to offer. It probably wouldn't be so bad. For all April knew, Trudy could have had an impressive dance history under her belt. She watched the teenage giraffe head to the center of the room for the demonstration; Maralyn headed to an iPod speaker in the corner of the room to turn it on. When the music started, Geraldine began her dance.

It was the most embarrassing thing April ever had the misfortune of watching. Her limbs went flying in an unbalance, off-beat mess of a dance that was occasionally interrupted with the gyrating of her hips. Her face was pointed forward at all times, regardless of what was going on in the dance, to make sure the judges could always see her bright smile. April kept waiting for Trudy to step in and correct her, but she remained silent.

"Is she doing it right?" April finally asked.

If looks could kill, April was sure she would have been stricken down where she stood. Trudy motioned to Maralynn to turn off the music. "This is why I didn't want an outside teacher," she said. "In the pageant world we require a very different kind of style. Showmanship is the most important. They don't want someone to be the best; they want them to have the most personality while doing it."

"Can't I have personality while being really good at it?"

"April, let me ask you something," she said. "How much pageant experience do you have?"

"None."

"Precisely," she said. "So I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Lovely." Trudy patted the top of her head. "Now we'll have to get you a gown for the evening wear."

"Oh, I already have that handled," April said. "My friend Webby is amazing at sewing and she was going to make me a dress."

"Make you a dress?"

"Yeah, she is seriously the best," April continued. "And this'll be so much more cost effective or whatever mom calls it. I will look just as fabulous as the other girls for less than half the price."

"That's all well and good, dear," Trudy said. "If you want the judges to think you're not committed to winning."

"What?"

"Homemade dresses are a sweet gesture, but they don't get you very far in this world," she explained. "When it comes to your dresses and your makeup, the judges demand perfection. I'm sure your little friend is quite the seamstress and if we needed a more rustic, downhome look, I'd say go ahead. But we want you to look like an elegant runway model."

"Oh, okay, I guess," she conceded. She did want to win and Trudy was the expert. "I'll just have to text her later so she doesn't start on it."

"Good girl," Trudy said. "Now let's get you a real dress."

When she told Webby about this, she would be sure to omit the 'real dress' comment. She would have probably taken it the wrong way. She wouldn't blame her for it but this was competition. Things would always be a little ruthless. Cruelty was just part of getting ahead in entertainment, wasn't it? Trudy disappeared into the other room for a few minutes before returning with a rack of dresses.

"I have a few dresses that might fit you," she said. "Normally I prefer my girls wear dresses made especially for them, but we'll consider this an emergency. I assume you didn't have a backup plan?"

"Not really, no."

April eyed the clothing rack. It was filled with vibrant dresses with poofed out skirts and gaudy sequins. April dreaded whatever Trudy planned to pull out of that sea of God-awful. The dress April was saddled with was one of the lesser evils on the rack. With a mermaid silhouette, the dress wouldn't have been so bad had it not been an ungodly fuchsia and covered with unnecessary rhinestones.

"This is the one is perfect."

"If you say so…."

"April, I'll need you to come in tomorrow morning. We're going to have to get a head start on your training. You've had so little of it compared to the other girls."

April nodded in agreement. She felt as though her energy had been completely drained for the day; she simply ran through the motions for the rest of the lesson. When the day finally came to a close, April waved her goodbyes before heading home. She did her best to ignore the little voice in her head telling her to second guess her teacher. That wasn't the kind of thinking that would win her this pageant. She needed to have complete faith in her teacher to win this.

* * *

><p>Donna was working later than she had anticipated that night. It wasn't that unusual for her to get tied up with a patient that kept her from getting home on time; it was all part of the job for an ER nurse. Back when the triplets were still young, Donna often turned to Holly to watch them or make them dinner on the evenings she couldn't get home on time. Now that they were older, Holly's services weren't really needed, but the chicken was still a frequent visitor to the house.<p>

The sun was low in the sky and both June and May had already made their way back home. After changing out of her cheerleading uniform and a quick shower, June had settled down at the coffee table with her sister to begin working on homework. May was still dressed in her soccer uniform with plans to change before dinner.

"You're both gonna help April with her pageant stuff?" June asked. She was a little more open to the idea than May who rolled her eyes at the mention of it.

"We're going to offer," Holly said.

"I don't see how she could say no," Daisy said. She entered from the kitchen, cutting through the small dining room to sit in one of the arm chairs in the living room. She held a small cup of tea in her right hand as she settled into her seat. "I'm sure Trudy is good at her job, but I have plenty to teach her." She paused. "Oh, right, you have things you can teach her, too, Holly."

"Thanks for remembering to mention me."

"I've been trying to make a list of things I think she should know." Daisy gave a thoughtful sip of her tea with her eyes turned up to the ceiling in deep thought. "It's a lot like a job interview."

"You lie through your teeth?" Holly asked.

"You don't lie," Daisy corrected. "You figure out how to make even your faults sound like strengths."

"Your job interviews are very different from my job interviews."

"I have an idea," May said. "How about you tell her this pageant is a stupid idea?"

"Why are you such a Negative Nelly about all this?" Daisy asked.

"Because it's a sexist contest," May said. "Just reading the rules made me uncomfortable. The only good thing I can say about this one is that they, at least, didn't have that weird transphobic rule the other ones have."

"How often do you look up beauty pageant rules?" Holly wondered.

"If I'm gonna tell April this is a bad idea, I should know what she's getting into, right?" If you could accuse May of anything, it was that she was thorough with her arguments. "So I looked into it."

"May, I understand where you're coming from," Holly said. "I'm not big on pageants either, but I really think it's not worth the energy. We all know April's going to get bored with this after trying this once."

"Excuse me?"

Holly turned her eyes upward to see April standing in the doorway with her hand on her hip. "Oh, April, you're home." The chicken was a little startled by the teen's sudden arrival; she tried to figure out how she'd somehow missed the sound of the front door opening. They were only a few feet away and yet April had managed to enter as silently as a mouse.

"Did you guys have something to say to me?" April asked. She'd been a little less enthused about the pageant after her meeting with Trudy van Tubb, but with that one sentence from Holly, her conviction had been restored tenfold.

"April, honey, you're just the girl I wanted to see," Daisy said. Her sugary sweet tone made it seem as though she was oblivious to the fact April had caught the insulting comment. "I wanted to talk to you about the pageant."

"The pageant that you think I'm not going to stick with?" April asked.

"Don't be silly, April." Daisy shook her head with a laugh. April wasn't entirely sure if she was playing dumb or genuinely unaware that she'd been insulted. "I wanted to offer to help you," she explained.

"I already have help from Miss van Tubb."

"I know, but a little extra help won't hurt," Daisy said. "You girls remember that old cartoon you used to watch when you were little? Captain Earth?"

"Planet."

"Think of me and your teacher like that." Daisy completely ignored her correction. "With our powers combined, you'll eventually work your way up to winning Miss America!"

"Miss America?" April chuckled. "You're jumping the gun a little there, aren't you, Aunt Daisy?"

"Nonsense," Daisy said. "You do take after me. You'll have this in the bag, sweetie. I'll give you some competition tips while Holly can give you some dance choreography! You'll have a leg up against everyone! And Holly will finally get to do some profession choreography instead of just doing it alone in her bedroom."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "I can't tell if you intentionally insulted me there or if you're just a natural."

April frowned. Her aunt looked so thrilled at the prospect of helping her niece and coming up with a winning routine for her, but Miss van Tubb's words echoed in her mind. She would have to turn her down. "Um, about that."

"Hm?"

"I asked Miss van Tubb about getting tips from you guys."

"And she said?"

"She said that… that too many cooks spoil the broth."

"Oh, that's a bunch of nonsense."

"She also said that it might not be a good idea to get tips from someone who only got runner up."

Daisy's eye began to twitch. "I see."

"I'm really sorry, Aunt Daisy." The apology was sincere. It broke April's heart to let her aunt down. "I just really, really want to win. She told me I have a chance at this if I just do what she tells me to do."

"Oh no, it's okay, sweetie," Daisy said. "I completely understand."

April smiled. Relief washed over her as she gave her aunt a grateful embrace. She thanked her aunt for her understanding before bidding them and her sisters goodbye. April hurried upstairs to her bedroom to relay the day's events to Webby, hoping she'd be just as okay with Miss van Tubb's comments as her Aunt Daisy was. Holly shot a confused glance at Daisy.

"That was awfully mature of you," she said.

"June?" Daisy ignored Holly's praise.

"Yes?"

"Get in the car."

"Um… Why?"

"We're signing you up for the Miss Teen Calisota."

"But I can't afford that."

"I'm paying for it," Daisy said. "Think of me as your sponsor."

Letting out a squeal of joy, June thanked her about – as far as Daisy could count – ninety-nine times before racing to the car. May took the opportunity to exit the room in disgust, leaving Daisy and Holly alone.

"Daisy?" Holly frowned. "What are you doing?"

"You mean what are we doing," Daisy said. "We're doing this as a team effort."

"Okay, what are we doing?" Holly amended the question.

"Remember how you told me April being in the pageant wasn't personal?"

"Yeah?"

"Trudy just made it personal," Daisy declared. "This is war."


	3. Miss Opportunities (Part 2)

"This seems a little excessive."

"Junebug, you have to understand how cutthroat these competitions are," Daisy said. "They will be analyzing your every move to see if anything is out of place. Your hair, dress and stance have to be perfect."

Daisy had dipped into the little she had left in savings to pay for a myriad of things to prep June for the pageant. She appreciated it although she wondered how necessary it all was. Daisy had gotten her an extravagant wardrobe, beak polish and a wide variety of makeup. Daisy didn't seem to think the makeup June already had at her disposal was satisfactory.

"We've been going over these questions for hours," June said. "Can't we take a break?"

"Alright," Daisy sighed. Before June could give a sigh of relief, Daisy continued, "You can take a break from this and go over your dance routine with Holly."

June had to admit, it did sound like a better plan. She would have preferred a break from practicing at all, but dancing was a lot better than memorizing speeches. June had no idea how much she had to fake her answers; they didn't want to hear how she truly felt or thought about things. The only time her real beliefs were acceptable were if they were perfectly in line with what judges wanted to hear. It reminded June a lot of when her mother coached Daisy on how to answer job interview questions. June was beginning to think the entire world revolved around how well you lied about yourself and covered up anything that made you unique. Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she headed off with Holly to practice. Daisy stayed by the sidelines to watch her niece.

In the beginning, the dance instruction was fun. June was able to fully commit herself to learning whatever steps Holly laid before her. Although June hadn't been on the cheerleading squad long, she felt it gave her a leg up on keeping up with Holly's pace. But as time rolled on and she grew more and more tired, Holly's energy never seemed to wane.

"Holly, can we stop for a second?" June asked.

"June, we don't have a lot of time to get this down to a science," Holly said. "I'm gonna need you to push through this. Whenever I had a dance competition to-"

"I'm not a dancer, Holly," June said. "This is just a routine for the pageant. They're not looking for a West Side Story number."

"That's the thing," Holly said. "They won't be expecting it! That's why you are going to completely blow them out of the water by giving them a performance fit for Broadway."

June frowned. "Holly, I don't want to get that intense. I just thought you were going to teach me something fun and simple."

"This is fun and simple," Holly said.

"Maybe for you! You've been dancing for a bajillion years. I need something that's more for a beginner."

"You know what this dance needs?" Daisy asked. She'd been acting as a sideline coach the entire time, frustrating Holly and June to no end. "How about some more tour en l'air moves."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "Tour en l'air? I'm not staging a ballet."

"But it would add a perfect touch of grace and sophistication."

"Daisy, you were the one who said you wanted it to be a hip hop number," Holly said.

"Well, maybe I changed my mind," Daisy said. "Maybe ballet would be better appreciated."

"What happened to 'Hip hop is hip with all the kids today'?" Holly deepened her voice to give a horrid imitation of Daisy. June didn't understand it as Holly's voice was about the same pitch as Daisy's. "You were all proud of the pun and everything."

"I said I changed my mind! And I do not sound like that." Daisy paused. "But it was a good pun, you have to admit."

"What about lyrical hip hop?" June tried to gently cut in. "It'd be a fair compromise…."

"You can't expect me to completely re-choreograph the dance!" Holly crossed her arms. Neither adult listened to a word June had said. "We're already cutting it close as it is! Now you want me to completely scrap it and start over? And then what? You change your mind again? If you're going to give me something you have to at least trust me to execute it."

"Guys, seriously," June said. "How about we just make slight adjustments to what we already have and find a softer song? It'll be less work than starting from scratch."

"I can't just trust you when my niece's success is on the line," Daisy said. Once again, June's words fell on deaf ears. Holly and Daisy's incessant bickering was starting to give her a headache; everything was stressful enough without those two being at each other's throats. And then, suddenly, Daisy hit a little too below the belt. "I can only assume there's a reason you're just a teacher and not a performer."

Holly stared at her, incredulously. "Okay, you know what?" Holly reached for her bag. "Fine. You can't trust me? You choreograph it yourself."

Daisy blinked, oblivious to how hurtful her words had been. "Okay then, I will!"

"I'll be interested to see how badly you screw this up."

"Oh, is that what you think?" Daisy asked. "Well, you are going to be surprised, Holly Goldstein."

"Somehow I doubt that." Holly laughed. "I've seen drunks with better motor skills."

At Holly's words, Daisy had some choice words to defend her honor; she had always struggled with her temper and Holly was not helping. Donna had once mentioned the Daisy was prone to "rage blackouts." When her arguments got heated enough or she felt her ego threatened, there were times that she would black out the conversation and she'd have no memory of what she'd said. Daisy's anger mixed with the stress of the pageant made this one of those days. The conversation devolved into the two cursing at one another. June found it unnerving to hear the words coming out of their mouths at one another. After yelling match between the two women, Holly stormed out of the house.

"Holly, wait!" June tried to stop her. She'd hoped that it wouldn't be too late to make amends immediately. She never wanted a friend to leave her home angry. There was a more selfish motive for her to call Holly back, too. As much as she loved her aunt, she knew Holly was the one with far more professional training. She also knew that Holly was more likely to fight for a stable dance routine while Aunt Daisy might change the routine every ten seconds.

"Sorry, kid," Holly said. "I'm out. I'm not taking this. I'll see you later."

June frowned as she watched Holly continue down the walkway. She was nervous about what her future held now that it was completely in Daisy's hands. She knew that now Daisy's anger had passed, she would be back to normal. Holly had taken the brunt of that. Daisy immediately took over the dance instruction. Daisy did have plenty of music to choose from on her iPod and she eventually settled on the Dramatic Waltz from Seven Beauties to try and choreograph a dance to.

"Aunt Daisy, when was the last time you danced ballet?"

"That doesn't matter," Daisy said. "What matters is I remember the moves."

With the old routine completely scrapped, June felt the pressure of memorizing a completely new dance. Daisy had a pretty firm grasp on what she wanted June to do for the dance, but only at first. She continuously changed the routine whenever she decided she was displeased with an idea. June was losing track of the dance moves she was supposed to be doing. She had been working too hard before Daisy's dance coup, but at least there had been consistency. She felt herself on the verge of tears when Daisy changed the routine for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Aunt Daisy, maybe you should decide what you want and then show me later?" June asked. "I can't remember all these changes."

"Nonsense, you're just nervous," Daisy said. "All you have to do is follow my instructions and you'll be a star."

"I thought I was just trying to win a pageant."

"You are, but you never know what kind of fame it could lead to."

"Aunt Daisy, I don't want to go on to Miss America or anything," June said. "I just thought this would be fun."

"As true as that might be, you could be spotted by a talent scout!"

June sighed. "Aunt Daisy, I didn't want to say this around April because she's so passionate about this but… I don't think that's really something that happens that often. I've heard of it happening sometimes and even then you never hear about them. Usually if the girls who get into these things break into acting, it's the work they did outside of these things."

"Don't be so negative, Junebug." Daisy ruffled her blonde hair. "We are going to make you famous, just you wait!"

June didn't say a word to her aunt. She knew that Daisy was too obsessed with her goal at this point to even hear a thing she had to say. Deciding that June needed to return to polishing up her speech, Daisy exited into the kitchen to grab her sheet of practice questions that she believed the judges would ask.

"I don't want to be famous," June said under her breath. Out of her siblings, she was the only one that had no interest in fame. She just wanted to do the things she liked. Fame was second fiddle to being happy and being surrounded by friends and family. She supported her sisters' in their desire to be famous to some capacity. If it made them happy, she wanted it for them. April was determined to become a famous actress while May wanted to be an all-star athlete who inspired young girls to be athletes. June, on the other hand, was more than happy to remain unknown to the general public. According to May, it was ironic that June had no desire for fame while she was already shaping up to be one of the most popular girls in school. June didn't quite believe her, but she claimed being a cheerleader was just the first step. The idea of high school popularity was daunting let alone the idea of stardom on any level.

June wished she'd never volunteered for this.

* * *

><p>The closer the pageant day came, the more frequently the other girls' mothers would visit Pageant Parade. The other mothers were, as far as April knew, stay-at-home mothers who also happened to have a lot of money to burn. April was a bit jealous at how much money most of them could drop on their daughters. She had known the other girls came from money, but to see it in action was something else.<p>

"April?" Trudy was looking about the room. "Where is your mother?"

"Oh, she's not here."

"Not here?"

"She's at work," April said.

"Your mother is at work?"

April nodded. "She's an ER nurse so she works a lot."

"She should be here instead."

"She has to work a set number of hours a week though," April explained. "She took off the day of the pageant so she could come. I'd rather her be there for the finished product anyway, you know?"

"April." Trudy sighed. "All of the other mothers are here to help support their daughters during their practice to give them the support they need. If your mother can't commit to this, perhaps you shouldn't be here."

"My mom can't just take off whenever she wants," April said. "People count on her."

"Your mother believes strangers are more important than her daughter?"

"No," April said. She couldn't really understand how the conversation was turning into an attack on her mother. "She works to support her kids."

April could feel everyone's eyes on her. It was clear that each and every mother in the room was judging her own mother for not being able to drop everything and be there. April had often wished her mother could spend more time at home, but it wasn't as though she was running around shopping or getting drunk. Her mother worked long hours to give April and her sisters a good life. It didn't take a genius to figure that out.

"No reason to get defensive," Trudy said. "It's just sad that your mother doesn't have her priorities together."

"My mom's priorities are fine," April said. "And I can guarantee you that her job is ten times more important than some stupid pageant."

The look in Trudy's eye sent a chill down April's spine. The piercing hatred that focused on her was unsettling. Trudy glanced back at the other mothers in the room, as if to see if they were still there to see this, and she then closed her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath before shaking her head.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," she said. "I've put too much work into you to give up on you so close to the pageant. I just want you to remember that you represent Pageant Parade when you're up on that stage. I expect you to keep it together."

"Yes, ma'am." April kept quiet after that. She thought about leaving Pageant Parade for good, but she could just hear May taunting her for leaving before the pageant. Her sister wouldn't let her hear the end of it and probably wouldn't even hear her out if she explained why. May could be insufferable like that at times. April knew she would have to figure out another way to get out of this mess.

It was hours before Trudy finally let the girls head home. The other girls were returning home with their mothers and April assumed she would be returning home on her own. She was surprised to see her Aunt Daisy waiting for her just outside Pageant Parade.

"Hey, Aunt Daisy." April smiled. She was a sight for sore eyes. April was tempted to see if she could convince her aunt to have a girl's night by going out for dinner or maybe just getting ice cream. Before she could reach her aunt, Trudy exited Pageant Parade.

"Daisy Duck," Trudy said. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Hello, Miss Van Tubb," Daisy said. She would do her best to remain civil for April's sake, but she wouldn't be happy about it. "It's a pleasure to meet you. April's told me about you."

Trudy frowned. "You don't remember me, do you?"

Daisy hesitated. "Should I…?"

"We went to Duckburg High together," Trudy said.

"I don't remember you," Daisy admitted.

"Of course you don't. You were too busy being stuck on yourself."

April cringed. Since when did Miss. van Tubb know her aunt? Why hadn't she mentioned that before? Was this why she was so cruel about April's family? None of the other girls dealt with these sorts of familial insults. She glanced at her aunt, hoping to see a look of clarity. Unfortunately, Daisy was only scowling at Trudy. Trudy's dig hadn't gone ignored. Daisy shook her head and her smile returned.

"April?" Daisy looked to her niece. "Could you give us a moment alone?"

"Um, sure," April said. She headed back to the care, nervously looking back at her aunt and Trudy as she climbed into Daisy's car. Once her niece was out of earshot, Daisy returned to the conversation with Trudy.

"Miss. van Tubb," she said, sweetly. "I'm sorry if I don't remember you, but I did have a lot of friends back then. It was hard for me to keep track of everyone."

Trudy gave a strained smile. "I heard you went off to St. Canard after you graduated from university. You always said you were going to make it big one day. I'm surprised to see you back in Duckburg." Daisy's smile fell. This was getting into uncomfortable territory. "Or did you come back because you couldn't cut it as an actress?"

"What?"

"Gossip travels fast in this town," Trudy said. "Face it, Daisy. You came back because you couldn't make it as an actress. Now that you don't have a high school to rule alongside your little friend, Minnie, you're a nobody. You're a nobody and I'm a world renowned beauty queen. How the tables have turned, huh, Daisy?"

"I…." Daisy trailed off. It took her a few seconds to collect herself. "I guess that's true," she admitted. "But I guess you're not really competing these days, are you?"

"I'm spreading my gift to other girls," Trudy said. "And I'll be the one to help save your niece from the legacy of failure."

"Oh yeah?" She placed her hands on her hips. "We'll just see who the better pageant coach is!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I will be coaching my other niece, June, for the pageant, too," Daisy said.

"The poor thing."

"Just you wait, Trudy," Daisy said. "You'll be eating those words."

With that, Daisy took her leave. There was no reason to continue antagonizing Trudy, but Daisy's determination to win was even stronger. June had to win. If she didn't, she would have been even more embarrassed than she already was. Her anger was keeping depression from washing over her. Trudy hadn't been entirely wrong about Daisy and it killed her to admit that.

Daisy ignored April's questions about what had taken place; she wasn't in the mood to discuss it, even if she wanted her niece to know what had happened. The car ride home was silent and the two immediately parted ways as soon as they reached the house. April left for her bedroom while Daisy called for her other niece from the living room.

"June!"

"Something wrong, Aunt Daisy?" June asked as she exited the hallway. She'd been in her room when she'd been called, and it had only taken her a few seconds to head into the living room.

"I need you to come down to the basement," Daisy said. "We're resuming your training."

"But what about my homework?"

"It'll have to wait," Daisy said. "We have too much to do and not enough time to do it. We have to win this."

June sighed. Her aunt had made up her mind. It was best not to fight her, she decided. She headed down into the basement where Daisy's room was located to resume her training. June wished she'd never gotten involved in any of this.

* * *

><p>It wasn't as glamorous as April had been anticipating. Whenever she saw pageants on TV, they were always held in large, glitzy concert halls. They always had official dressing rooms for the contestants to change in and apply their makeup. April had high hopes of having access to something a little more high class than her school's makeshift dressing rooms; Duckburg High didn't allocate money to build dressing rooms. They always separate the boys and girls into two separate classrooms. They would hang a little piece of fabric over the class window in the door to give them some privacy. It was as fancy as it got for the students participating in school plays.<p>

April was disappointed to find that Miss Teen Calisota wasn't much more sophisticated. She was aware it was going to be held in a local hotel, but she had thought it would be Hotel McDuck. In reality, it was being held in Ratcliffe Hotel. The ballroom had been emptied out so that the pageant staff could build a stage for the contestants to compete on. The dressing room was one of the meeting rooms adjacent to the ballroom. The audience would be sitting in unadorned black banquet chairs and the floor was covered in wall to wall cheap light blue carpet.

"This is it?" April asked.

"Of course," Geraldine said. "What were you expecting?"

"I thought it'd be… bigger?"

"What are you talking about?" Geraldine didn't seem to understand April's concern.

"Nevermind, I guess I'm just nervous." April decided to let the topic drop. The other girls seemed a lot more enthused by their surroundings. She was starting to realize that she may have had some pie in the sky dreams about how luxurious this was going to be.

"April?"

April turned at the sound of a familiar voice. Standing a few feet behind her was June. She smiled at the sight of her sister; she was dressed in what April could only describe as elegant. The bright yellow gown had a sweetheart neckline and it reached down to the floor. June's low slung pigtails were still intact although they now had a gentle curl to them.

"June, you look amazing," April said. Suddenly, she felt idiotic in her gaudy red dress that Trudy had crammed her into. It was nowhere near as beautiful as June's. "I guess I should have stuck with Aunt Daisy after all."

June smiled weakly. "I don't know about that."

"Why?" April asked. "Did something happen?"

At that, June began to explain the troubles she faced during her training with Daisy and Holly. April exchanged horror stories with her over her time at Pageant Parade. The other girls of Pageant Parade ignored the two sisters as they were wrapped up in finding understanding and comfort in one another. It was clear that both of them had regretted their decision to enter the pageant despite their prior excitement.

"If either of this wins, it could just get worse," June said. "It could be the beginning of a stupid pageant feud that we'd be trapped in."

"Unless…."

"Unless what?"

"Unless we make sure we don't win."

June smiled. "It's not like it'd be hard to make a mistake that'd help us lose."

"No, we gotta go bigger than just making a mistake," April said. "We have to give the most miserable performance of our lives so no one wants to take a chance on us again."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Leave that up to me," April said.

* * *

><p>The audience was teeming with overinvested parents, bored siblings and overpaid pageant coaches. Daisy and Donna had situated themselves close to the stage. It had never been Donna's cup of tea, but she was there to support her girls with a smile. She had cell phone ready to take video of the girls when they graced the stage. May begrudgingly sat next to her mother. It was clear she wasn't happen with the situation even though she came to support her sisters.<p>

Daisy felt slightly overdressed. She'd assumed it would be a formal event like the one she had participated in during her college days. Before they left the house, Daisy had made May and Donna change out of their jeans to put on most dressy outfits. May still had on slacks even if they were dressier than her usual pants. Daisy and Donna stood out in their dresses when the other parents wore jeans and t-shirts. When they first arrived, May had made some comments about having to dress up for no reason. It was too late to fix the mistake by then.

It was during the opening ceremonies that Daisy felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Holly standing behind her. She gave a weak smile when Daisy looked to her. "You mind if I sit with you guys?"

Daisy thought for a moment. The fight from before had yet to be resolved, but Daisy didn't enjoy being at odds with people. Finally, she nodded and allowed Holly to take the seat next to her. There was an awkward silence between them for a moment.

"Daisy, I'm sorry," Holly said. "Everything got a little stupid and we both said some things. I regret letting it get that out of hand and I'm sorry about everything I said."

Daisy couldn't even remember the words that had escaped her mouth. She remembered the beginning of the fight, but the next thing she recalled was getting back to work. Over the years, Daisy had learned to accept that people were telling the truth when they said she'd gotten overly cruel.

"I'm sorry, too," Daisy said. She wouldn't admit she couldn't remember what she said. It wasn't the time to get into the darker part of her psychosis. She was starting to think Donna was right. She did need therapy.

"Truce?" Holly held out a hand to her.

"Truce," Daisy said. They'd have to talk about it a little later. She had a feeling there was more to say than just sorry, but it wasn't the time. The apologies were just a start and Daisy knew that. After the truce, they feel into awkward conversation. The hard feelings were fading away, but it was impossible to completely forget about the words that were said so soon.

"We should probably tell June we're sorry," Holly finally said. "We probably freaked the poor kid out."

Daisy had almost forgotten June was even there. She couldn't hold back the groan. "Oh God, she watched us go at it like psychotic grade schoolers."

"Pretty sure our language was a little more adult than grade schooler's."

Daisy suddenly felt like a monster. She'd done all of this damage to her friends and family over showing up someone like Trudy Van Tubb. Daisy couldn't even list herself as being better than the former beauty queen. It hit her like a ton of bricks that she had so much to make up for. Holly's presence was a reminder of how much damage control she had ahead of her. She was lost in thought as the pageant carried on as normal. Holly would occasionally snap her out of her thoughts with a comment or two, but it took some time before Daisy was able to get her head back in the game. Pushing her guilt and worry to the back of her mind, she focused on the pageant. The least she could do was be there for her niece now that it was too late to turn back.

As far as everyone else knew, the girls were going about their day as planned. The girls before them performed as well as April anticipated. The pressure to outdo them was now completely off her shoulders and, frankly, it was making the whole experience a lot more enjoyable. April had no idea that completely throwing a competition could be the key to enjoying the entire ordeal.

April watched as Maralyn finished her question, knowing June would be on after her. Maralyn's coffe-colored hair was pulled into an updo that was being held in place with hairspray and bobby pins. She did look the part of a pageant queen and every answer was so perfectly crafted. After getting to know her for several weeks, April was all too aware those weren't the answers she would have normally given. She had been molded into the perfect pageant contestant by Trudy.

It was a relief knowing the other girls at Pageant Parade were students at East High. April was dedicated to the plan, but she didn't need her entire school knowing about it; she was fortunate that almost no one at Duckburg High would care at all. As big as Duckburg was on pageants, no one at school seemed to be all that interested in them. They typically saved any interest for the larger, country-wide or international pageants. Maralyn gave a few more non-answers before heading off stage. April crossed her fingers as she watched her sister gracefully walk onto the stage.

When June reached her cue, however, things went intentionally downhill. Every word she uttered was vapid; June was a smart girl, albeit a bit oblivious, but she was careful to give as many idiotic answers as possible.

"June, who is your favorite director, and why?"

"Martin Gooseberry," she said. "Because I think he has his pulse on the heartbeat of the regular person."

The crowed chuckled and murmured at her idiotic responses. Although Donna had not been all that passionate about the pageant, it was a bit embarrassing to watch her daughter intentionally humiliate herself. The talent portion of June's act was when things fell apart in spectacular ways. "For my talent, I would like to perform an interpretive dance entitled."

"Interpretive dance?" Holly looked to Daisy.

"Don't look at me," Daisy said. She held her hands up, defensively. "I don't know what's going on right now."

The crowd's interested gaze turned to confusion as a mindless pop song played over the loudspeakers. The auto-tune and singer's nasally voice heavily contrasted any seriousness that would be associated with any interpretive dance numbers. This only served to make June's dance seem horrifically out of place. June twirled and danced as though the song had a deep, intrinsic meaning to match her pained expression and movements.

Daisy leaned over to whisper to Holly. "Is this some kind of comment on pop music?" Holly only shrugged. There was an awkward silence when June finished her dance. There were tears streaming down her face as though she had been working with an emotionally moving piece. The song itself had been about some vague romantic interest. The singer had never even bothered to mention specifics about the man she was in love with; it was as shallow as a love song could be. Yet June made sure to do her dance as though it were a masterpiece. Bowing to the audience afterward, June gracefully exited the stage. There was some light applause from the still surprised audience.

It was April's turn. Taking a deep breath, she ascended the stairs when the announcer called her name. She did not have the deceptively graceful entrance that her sister did. She shoved a piece of gum in her mouth before heading on stage and smacked it loudly. It was a habit she hated, but it was for the greater good. Forgetting everything she'd been taught about posture, she slouched and placed a hand on her hip. She didn't look all that thrilled to be there. Trudy looked absolutely horrified from the stands. She was shouting at her to straighten up, but April paid no mind. April's name had already been announced as a Pageant Parade girl in her introduction and the reputation of Pageant Parade was already tarnished by her entrance.

The beauty walk was already over and done with, but April wasn't finished. She had plans to completely bomb the question and answer section of the competition. She knew the answers she was supposed to give, but all of those would be abandoned.

"Miss April Duck, why did you choose to enter this pageant?"

"Because I want to be famous, duh," April said. She was sure to put as much attitude as possible into it.

The judges exchanged looks before writing something down in their notes. "How has this pageant challenged you?"

"It's challenged me by being the biggest pain in the…" April trailed off when she remembered her mother was in the crowd. "The biggest challenge was dealing with all the stupid rules and the shallow idiots that are always crawling all over these things. It did teach me how much people can get done if they don't know how to feel shame."

The announcer cleared his throat. His annoyance was clear from his tone; he had to speak loudly to be heard over some of the angrier patrons. "If you don't win this pageant, would you consider competing again, and why or why not?"

April laughed. "No," she said, "Because if I don't win this thing over these idiots, this whole thing is rigged." The boldness of her statement caused several people in the room to gasp before whispering to one another.

Before the room could completely settle down and questioning commence, April decided to interrupt, "Can I get to my talent now? That's what everybody's here to see." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Trudy practically tearing her hair out in handfuls. The judges seemed just as eager to get this over with and allowed her to carry on with her talent.

"For my talent, I'd like to do a monologue from Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls," April announced. It was only seconds after she began that she felt a hand on her shoulder. One of the staff members had come forward to escort her off the stage before she could begin her monologue. She counted it as a success as she walked off the stage.

The audience was still dead silent. May's laughter was the only thing that could still be heard. Donna was far too stunned to hush her daughter; she really wasn't sure what the proper reaction should be. Daisy briefly glanced at Trudy. She had already started to retreat from the room, looking embarrassed. There was a small part of Daisy that appreciated it, but it was coupled with the immense guilt she felt. Not sure what to do, she beckoned an equally confused Holly to follow her off to the side of the room. By the time they had moved away from their seats, the crowd had started to murmur among themselves. There were a few amused spectators while many were upset by the mockery that had taken place.

"I think you and I both know what happened on that stage," Daisy said. Holly nodded before looking to the ground. She was just as ashamed as Daisy was. "We pushed the girls way too far, didn't we?" Daisy asked.

"You more than me."

"Holly."

Holly sighed. "Yeah, I guess we were both a little stage motherish."

"God, what is wrong with me?" Daisy asked.

"Jealousy can be a hell of a drug."

"It was more than that," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Did I ever tell you iwhy/i I came back to Duckburg?"

"No."

"I went to St. Canard to be an actress," Daisy explained. "I wanted to be in movies so badly. I had these big dreams of becoming the next Lana Turner. I had dozens of auditions and I landed a couple of stage roles and I was an extra in a few movies, but that was it. After I lost my day job and my agent dropped me, it didn't take long for the money I had to run out. I had trouble finding another job before I couldn't live off my funds anymore. I ended up having to come back to Duckburg to live with my sister." Daisy sighed. "I guess I just don't want any of the girls to be a big fat failure like me."

"I'm sorry, Daze," Holly said.

"It's why I've been too embarrassed to even call up Donald. I don't want to have to tell him what a loser I am."

Holly was quiet for a moment. "I know how you feel."

"You do?"

She nodded. "I was gonna be a dancer."

"What happened?"

"My mom wanted me to be a dancer, singer and actress," Holly said. "I was okay with that until she kept pushing and pushing. She was trying to live through me and it took its toll. I had a breakdown and, for a couple of years, I was useless. I was a depressed blob that only cared about getting through each day. Next thing I knew, I was a dance instructor. It's a respectable gig… but it feels so empty when you think about what life could have been. It's just not what I wanted for my career, you know?"

"I guess we put a lot on June, didn't we?"

"We were gonna make her live some variation of our dream whether she liked it or not," Holly said. "I really have become my mother."

"But we still have time to make it right," Daisy said. "And that's what we're going to do."

* * *

><p>With the pageant over, the girls had retreated to April's bedroom. April had escaped before Trudy could bring her wrath down upon her. When the girls were younger, they had shared a room, but things slowly changed as they grew older. Donna moved them into a larger home after she divorced their father and each of the girls had been given rooms of their own. The décor in April's room was simple; red and white furniture popped in a room with creamy white walls and carpet. The dresser and white vanity table had bright red dress knobs that were shaped like hearts. The mirror on her vanity was shaped like a heart and her desk was built into her loft bed. Donald had been the one to build it for her at Donna's request when she was still a girl. It had lasted all these years and April had no interest in replacing it. She didn't care if it made her seem like a child. She adored all the work Donald had done for her room.<p>

There had been personal touches throughout the room. Beside her vanity was a homemade "film strip." Donald had used a wooden spool and photographs of her family to make her family photos appear to be frames in a mock film strip. It had been a gift to her on her tenth birthday and she had treasured it since. April felt it spoke more to her personality than simply hanging the photos on the wall. The girls were gathered in the center of the room. They would often lie on the floor to gossip and share snacks in the process. May had been the one to initiate the gathering after April and June had gained their status as pageant losers. In the privacy of April's bedroom, the two filled May in on the rest of the details.

"Go ahead and say it," April said. "Get out your 'I told you so.'"

"Nah," May said. "I don't think you need me to say it. You both already know. As dumb as this whole idea was, I'm sorry, April. I know this meant a lot to you. But, honestly, you'd be better off just doing plays."

"You're probably right."

"And you need to stick to cheerleading," May said, nudging June in the arm.

June giggled. "I couldn't agree more."

"Girls?" Daisy called for her nieces. June and April exchanged glances before they headed out into the hallway. Daisy stood just outside the door, sheepishly keeping her eyes fixated on the floor. Holly stood a few feet away, allowing Daisy to have her moment with her nieces first. "Could we speak to you a second?"

"Yeah, of course," June said. April leaned against the doorframe with a sigh. She turned her head away from her aunt, not nearly as forgiving as her sister could be. While they hadn't done anything to April, personally, she couldn't overlook the treatment of her sister. June watched her aunt with a curious expression.

"Holly and I owe you a huge apology," Daisy said. "I'm really sorry I got so out of control, girls. I was so obsessed with how I felt I didn't even care about either of you. And Holly and I should have never fought we did, especially around you, June. Do you think you girls could forgive me?"

"Of course I forgive you, Aunt Daisy," June said. She hugged her aunt tightly while April remained silent. When June released her aunt from the embrace, Daisy and April locked eyes. April's dour expression didn't shift. Daisy could feel her heart drop at the prospect of her niece refusing to forgive her.

"Depends," April said. "You promise you won't do anything like this ever again?"

"I promise!"

"And you realize that this means you owe us a trip to the movies?"

Daisy smiled. "Of course. I'll even take you out for ice cream after."

"Then apology accepted," April said. She moved in to give her aunt a hug. "But don't think it'll be so easy for me to forgive you if you pull a stunt like this again."

"It won't happen again, I swear," Daisy said, hugging her tightly.

Holly stepped forward. "Think you could forgive me, too?"

"Of course we can," June said.

"Yeah, we're used to you being a screw up," April teased.

"I…. Wait."

"Sorry, Holly, I couldn't resist." April laughed. Daisy felt a little better about everything that had happened. The apologies were far from over, of course, but it was a start. It didn't matter that they hadn't come out on top at the pageant; the girls' forgiveness was far more important. Daisy made a mental note to never get caught up in something so idiotic again.


End file.
